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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones leans on a blocking dummy as he listens to coaches during the first day of their NFL football minicamp on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Posted: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Jason Worilds is not James Harrison. Neither is Jarvis Jones, Chris Carter or anybody else the Steelers decide to put at right outside linebacker this season.

Linebackers coach Keith Butler doesn’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. What Harrison’s potential replacements lack in snarl they make up for in options.

“I’ve never had a situation like this where I can play three different guys and have confidence in all of them that they’re going to be pretty good,” Butler said Wednesday.

They’ll have to be if they want to take the field for a team that perennially sends out one of the best defenses in the NFL. While Butler cautioned it’s way too early to figure out the depth chart, he’s confident the dropoff without Harrison won’t be significant.

“We’ve got some guys who can play,” Butler said.

And it may take using Worilds, Carter and Jones to fill in for Harrison. Worilds finished with five sacks in spot duty last season. Jones, taken 17th in the draft, led the nation in sacks last fall while playing for Georgia. Carter, when healthy, might be the best of the three in pass coverage.

Though Jones is considered the future, Carter and Worilds understand there’s a chance in the present to make an impact. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s defense can be difficult to pick up for young players no matter how talented they are.

Worilds and Carter have paid their dues in that fashion and they know it’s time for them to start producing.

The 25-year-old Worilds spent his first three seasons bouncing between the right side and left side. There are no such issues now, allowing him to get comfortable for the first time.

“The main thing for me this year is to finally have a home,” Worilds said. “In the past, I’ve worked at both sides, and I never knew from one day to the next where I would play. This year, I’ve worked almost exclusively on the right side, and having that craft to hone has really helped me out.”

Worilds will likely need to settle in quickly if he wants to hold off Jones. He played well at times while filling in as Harrison recovered from lingering knee issues last fall and picked up two sacks in a loss to Cleveland. The way Worilds looks at it, the more reps he gets, the better his chances of sticking around.

“I’ve always been the type of player where I learn better if I can go through it,” he said.

The Steelers finished No. 1 in total defense in 2012 but were a middling 15th in sacks.

Generating more pressure — and hopefully creating more turnovers in the process — has been a point of emphasis during the offseason. Though LeBeau commands his players to be versatile, there’s little doubt the best way to stay at the top of the depth chart is getting into the backfield and creating havoc.

Chaos happened to be Jones’ specialty at Georgia, where his 14.5 sacks were the most in the nation last fall. He has proven better than advertised covering running backs and tight ends, leading Butler to joke Jones is Pittsburgh’s “shutdown linebacker.”

That’s not why the Steelers spent a first-round pick on Jones, though. And while LeBeau allows Jones will be a “pretty good player” if the coaches don’t “mess him up” there’s also no big rush to get him on the field. Jones was able to freelance at Georgia, relying on his talent to cover up mistakes. That won’t be tolerated in the NFL.

“He doesn’t exactly know what we require from him,” Butler said. “It’s not like in college, even though he played outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. It doesn’t mean he can be plugged right in.”

Jones is hardly lagging behind. The transition is just that difficult, something Carter and Worilds know all too well.

“Nobody comes in here and picks things up right away,” Carter said. “That’s just how it is. You look at Jason Worilds, even James Harrison. He didn’t get going right away, but look at how he developed.”

Carter is spending most of his time on the left side behind LaMarr Woodley but remains an option on the right side in certain situations. And even with Harrison gone, Carter believes the overall depth has improved.

“I also think we have a better linebacker corps this year, as the younger guys got more experience, and with who they brought in,” Carter said. “So, that’s a good thing for the team. That gives us a lot of weapons on defense, and we need all we can get to win a championship.”

Something that tends to happen with regularity in Pittsburgh. The echoes of the Steel Curtain defense that won four titles in the 1970s still resonate. Worilds, in fact, wore a t-shirt honoring one of the NFL’s all-time defenses on Wednesday.

“They were the best,” Worilds said, “and I want this defense to be the best.”

Just need 6 sacks to replace the 2012 version of Harrison. I think between Worilds and Jones we could get double that.

Woodley is the one who has to get double digit sacks for the defense to be successful. I worry more about him than I do the Worild/Jones combination.

You need more than 6 sacks to replace Harrison. You are completely ignorning his run defense, which was still exceptional. You are also neglecting to mention that Timmons played much better when Harrison was drawing attention on defense. Timmons did nothing in the games Harrison did not play.

I do agree that Woodley playing up to his contract is a key. The Steelers cannot afford to have that much salary tied up in a guy who does not produce.

You need more than 6 sacks to replace Harrison. You are completely ignorning his run defense, which was still exceptional. You are also neglecting to mention that Timmons played much better when Harrison was drawing attention on defense. Timmons did nothing in the games Harrison did not play.

I do agree that Woodley playing up to his contract is a key. The Steelers cannot afford to have that much salary tied up in a guy who does not produce.

Sacking the QB is difference making plays. Rarely is an opponents running game a decisive factor in the "pass first and pass often" NFL of 2013. I'll trade off some run defense for getting more sacks every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I'll also disagree with the consistent Timmons never does enought to prove his worth point of view. Timmons was the best defensive player on the the team from Game 1 to Game 16. He didn't need Harrison for that to show to anyone who wanted to see it. He was asked to do more with Harrison and Troy out than any player on that defense.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

What you need to replace in Harrison is a player who the opponent must gameplan around. It is not always about the numbers. It is more about the presence on the field. In the past 5-10 years we have had two and a half players who fit that bill - Harrison, Troy, and at times Woodley. Luckily, in 2012 he was not that player for at least half the season. He played 13 games and in many he was subpar and I'm sure that the opposing OC recognized that. His production came in the last 6 or so games of the season.

Sacking the QB is difference making plays. Rarely is an opponents running game a decisive factor in the "pass first and pass often" NFL of 2013. I'll trade off some run defense for getting more sacks every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I'll also disagree with the consistent Timmons never does enought to prove his worth point of view. Timmons was the best defensive player on the the team from Game 1 to Game 16. He didn't need Harrison for that to show to anyone who wanted to see it. He was asked to do more with Harrison and Troy out than any player on that defense.

Early in the season, like the first few games, Timmons was not playing well. His game against the Raiders was borderline pathetic.

What you need to replace in Harrison is a player who the opponent must gameplan around. It is not always about the numbers. It is more about the presence on the field. In the past 5-10 years we have had two and a half players who fit that bill - Harrison, Troy, and at times Woodley.

Sacking the QB is difference making plays. Rarely is an opponents running game a decisive factor in the "pass first and pass often" NFL of 2013. I'll trade off some run defense for getting more sacks every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

It starts with stopping the run.
Third and 3 or less.....how likely are you to get a sack?

Just ask Carson Palmer how easy it is to pass when the run game is clicking

I saw a bigger correlation when Troy came back. A lot of guys got a lot better all of a sudden. But with Timmy specifically, I think having Troy on the field frees him up to attack in the box more than play in deep coverage. While he can cover better than most LBs, I still think his explosiveness is best utilized when we allow him to attack the ball.

I saw a bigger correlation when Troy came back. A lot of guys got a lot better all of a sudden. But with Timmy specifically, I think having Troy on the field frees him up to attack in the box more than play in deep coverage. While he can cover better than most LBs, I still think his explosiveness is best utilized when we allow him to attack the ball.

+1. Harrison did not free up Timmons, Troy did. Timmons was not called upon to drop into coverage as much when Troy plays and could attack the LOS and was free to do other things.

But he just led or was tied for the lead in tackles, sacks and INTs. I guess in some peoples minds that he was still lacking and always will be.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!